Today we have S. G. Rogers, author of The Last Great Wizard of Yden, visiting with us on the blog! She’s sharing a flash fiction Christmas piece titled “Written for Christmas”.

Written For Christmas

Diva hesitated a moment before pulling the gift-wrap from Lorelei’s Larceny. As she gazed at the author photo on the dust jacket, the corners of her mouth turned up in a wistful smile. The lights on the Christmas tree in the corner winked at her and the window beyond revealed a light snow flurry falling outside. She turned the novel over in her hands, wondering if she should brave the elements to walk to the corner coffeehouse. While nursing a couple of peppermint mochas, she could make a pretty good dent in the book. Besides which, she didn’t want to spend Christmas Eve alone.

Diva’s eyes slid over to the miniature pirate as he emerged from the pages of her recently released romance novel, Captain Westerly’s Conquest. The book rested on the table in front of the sofa, next to a Yule candle. “Nobody asked you,” she said. “And besides, Brandon won’t know.”

The dashing captain tilted his head as he examined the dust jacket. “Hey, he resembles me…or perhaps I resemble him.”

A crease of annoyance marred Diva’s brow. “Do you have to leap off the page like that? It’s kind of disconcerting.”

“It’s the way you wrote me, my lady,” Westerly said, with a courtly bow. “Why didn’t you give Brandon a copy of my book? I mean, your book. He would have enjoyed Captain Westerly’s Conquest.”

“Are you kidding? He’s a man. Men don’t read romance,” Diva said.

“I don’t see why not? Brandon’s a handsome devil, even if I say so myself—secure in his masculinity.”

“And furthermore, we’re just friends. There’s simply no way a man like him would be interested in me,” she finished.

Westerly stroked his chin, covered with manly stubble. “I thought we were talking about books.”

“Behave, Captain, or your next story will involve a wife and kids.”

Her decision made, Diva launched herself off the sofa and disappeared into her bedroom. A few moments later, she emerged with her coat and scarf in hand. She stopped short, gaping, as Westerly helped a miniature cat burglar step out of the pages of Lorelei’s Larceny. Clad in a sexy black unitard, the woman bore an uncanny resemblance to Diva.

“You look like me!” Diva exclaimed, wide-eyed.

“It’s the way Brandon Forster wrote me,” Lorelei replied, tossing her glossy sable locks over one shoulder.

Captain Westerly kissed Lorelei’s hand. “Would you care for a tour of my ship, my lady?” he asked. “We’ll toast the season with a glass of rum punch.”

Lorelei raised an eyebrow as she gave the pirate an appraising glance. “Lead on.”

“Wait a minute, you can’t—” Diva began, but the two main characters disappeared into the pages of Captain Westerly’s Conquest without so much as a backward glance.

A knock on the apartment door caused Diva to blanch. She draped her coat and scarf over a chair and went to answer it. Brandon Forster stood there, clutching Captain Westerly’s Conquest. “I hope you don’t mind me s-stopping by,” he stammered. “I, um, had to tell you how much I loved your book.”

Diva’s mouth opened, but no sound would come out. Brandon flushed pink and ran his fingers through his closely cropped hair. “I’m sorry, that was lame. What I mean to say is…do you, er, want to get a cup of coffee?”

“I’d love some coffee,” she said with a slow smile.

Brandon let his breath out in a gust. He glanced at the sprig of mistletoe hung over the door and returned her smile with one of his own.

“How did that get there?” she exclaimed, startled.

A distant foghorn sounded from the vicinity of Captain Westerly’s Conquest, on the table behind her.

“I don’t know, but who am I to buck tradition?” Brandon asked. He leaned forward, his lips hovering over hers.

“Merry Christmas,” she said, before she sealed it with a kiss.

~ S.G. Rogers

The Last Great Wizard of Yden

After his father is kidnapped, sixteen-year-old Jon stumbles across a closely guarded family secret–one that will challenge everything he has ever believed about his father and himself. A magical ring his father leaves behind unlocks a portal to another dimension, but in using it, Jon unwittingly unchains the forces of evil. A crisis develops when a malevolent wizard transports to Earth to kidnap Jon’s would-be girlfriend. With the help of some unlikely schoolmates, and a warrior princess from Yden, Jon embarks on a dangerous quest to free his friend and his father from the most vicious wizard the magical world has ever known. In the end, Jon will be forced to fight for his life as he attempts to rescue the last great wizard of Yden.

What a great idea for a story. Both authors' characters getting together on the ship! I love the line “It’s the way you wrote me, my lady,”..Guess that she was thinking about Brandon when she wrote her book. Gee perhaps you could stretch it out into a Christmas novella for those us who are wondering if Brandon and Lorelei make it to the New Year!!JaxsPS.The Last Great Wizard of Yden.. sounds like a paranormal sci fi YA, SA(senior adult,haha) type of book that I am going to enjoy. Perhaps it could go on Christmas sale for retirees on a budget? Ask your publisher if they would consider doing what Baen has done for the disabled community. With proof of severe medical disability, all Baen Books on their website are free, not just their "free books" but all books. If all publishers considered this as part of their charity giving each year, this would make life easier for the disabled who don't just like to read pure SciFi, although I am thankful to Baen for all the books at my disposal.